Former Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, has described President Bola Tinubu’s administration as “one of the most reckless in the history of this country,” accusing it of wastage, poor planning, and unleashing worsening economic hardship for Nigerians.
Melaye made the remarks on Monday evening during an interview on Arise News Prime Time show, where he criticised the government’s spending priorities amid growing hunger and economic distress.
According to him, Tinubu has contradicted his campaign promise to cut wastages by making extravagant purchases since assuming office.
“This government is one of the most reckless in the history of this country. The president, who said he wanted to curb wastages, bought a yacht. That yacht has never been to the territorial waters of Nigeria; it is between Monaco and Paris. What do we need a yacht for in a time of austerity and pervasive hunger?” Melaye asked.
The former lawmaker further alleged that the president purchased a new presidential jet worth billions of naira within months of taking office, despite claims from the presidency that it was a gift.
“I am telling you that it was purchased. Gift by who? Gifts have to be declared. If you have a gift, declare who gave it to you. They called it a gift because the money used to purchase that aircraft was not appropriated by the National Assembly,” he said.
Melaye also faulted the president’s choice of an official car, claiming Tinubu abandoned the traditional Mercedes Benz S-Class used by his predecessors since the First Republic for a more luxurious, bombproof Mercedes brand, “the same type that Trump is using in America.”
On the National Assembly budget, Melaye accused Tinubu of inflating the figures for federal lawmakers to tighten control over them and make them do his bidding.
“In the Eighth Senate, the budget of the National Assembly was ₦150 billion. Today, the president has increased it to over ₦370 billion in order to make them a parastatal or department of the Villa,” he alleged.
The former lawmaker, who contested the 2023 Kogi State governorship election under the platform of the PDP, also took aim at Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy on his inauguration day, describing it as a “monumental error.”
“He did the right thing in the wrong way. What Tinubu did can be likened to a surgeon who performed a successful procedure on a patient but the patient died. There was no planning, no succour, no buffers, no ameliorative measures,” Melaye argued.
He maintained that the removal plunged millions into deeper hardship because it was done without consultation or preparation.
“He did not even get to the office to take briefs on subsidies directly from those who know. Today, Nigerians are not only unhappy, but there is massive hunger in the land. I am a grassroots person, I can tell you,” Melaye stressed.
Reacting to claims from the presidency about improved economic performance, Melaye dismissed government statistics, citing the administration’s continued borrowing.
“If those statistics are correct, why is the president borrowing $1.7 billion from the World Bank? It is not correct to say they have stopped borrowing. What has the Senate approved so far? $21 billion with many others coming for consideration,” he said.
Melaye concluded that Nigeria was in a precarious situation, warning that unless urgent corrective measures were taken, the administration’s policies will only worsen poverty and hunger.
